June/July2015
RAWPET DIGEST IN THIS ISSUE: - Raw f eed i n g " h o w -t o " - Ex er ci se - Essen t i al o i l s - Sk i n al l er g i es - A n d m o r e!
Meshach, a Great Dane. Photo credit: Kim Bloomer
Raw Pet Digest Editor-in-chief: Kristin Clark Technical editor: Dr. Jeannie (Jeannette) Thomason
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Our goal at Raw Pet Digest is to share this information to a broad audience to help improve the lives of our companion animals. We sincerely hope that the information presented in this magazine will be of use to you and your pets.
DISCLAIMER: All information contained in Raw Pet Digest is intended for educational purposes only. It is not provided in order to diagnose, prevent, or treat any disease, illness, or injured condition of the body or pets and the author(s), publisher, and contributors accept no responsibility for such use. Anyone or their pets suffering from any disease, illness, or injury should consult with their physician or veterinarian. The statements herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the author. The articles herein are for educational purposes only. The decision to use, or not to use, any information is the sole responsibility of the reader.
Lycan, Merlin, Midge, and Pansy. Photo credit: Bre Altherr
FEATURESAND COLUMNS Letter from the Editor - 4 A Practical Guide to SARF feeding - 5 Finding Meat Suppliers - 10 The Importance of Exercise - 14 Healthy Treats for Cats - 20 Healthy Treats for Dogs - 21
Grubat, a Maine Coon kitten, playing with a paper bag. Photo credit: Jim Clark
Stopping the Itch: Skin Allergies in Your Pet - 22 Introduction to Essential Oils - 28 Building Your Essential Oil Kit - 34 The Vegetarian Dilemma - 36 Lessons in Love: My Time with Gwinnie - 40
Turner, a Shetland Sheepdog, enjoying the great outdoors. Photo credit: Jill Ermel
Letter fromtheEditor Welcome to the June/ July issue of Raw Pet Digest! As I sit here writing this, I keep thinking about how excited I am to bring you all the information that?s packed into this issue. Inside, you'll find a range of topics, all of which I think you?ll find valuable. This issue, I wanted to not only continue what we started in the inaugural issue of Raw Pet Digest, but also expand by bringing you more and different information about how to help your pet achieve true, holistic health naturally. And so, we continue the journey we began with the April/ May issue by bringing you specific information on how to feed a species-appropriate raw food (SARF) diet, from tools you?ll need to where and how to feed. We also take a look at the best ways to find affordable, high-quality raw meat suppliers. And we explore what it means to feed your carnivore pet a SARF diet if you?re a vegetarian (or vegan).
Kristin with Cleo, Motley, Elle, and Barkley. Photo credit: Adam Gilbert
health. These are of course not ?cures? in and of themselves, but instead are supplements and support to the body to help it heal. This list includes (but is by no means limited to!) acupuncture, herbal medicine, homeopathy, Although nutrition is the foundation of health, it?s chiropractic work, and essential oils. In this issue, not the only aspect of it. This issue of Raw Pet we introduce essential oils and also talk about Digest also takes an in-depth look at exercise in several oils you may find useful to keep on-hand. our continuing series covering the eight laws of health. Exercise is one of the most neglected but And, finally, as part of our ongoing series on animals most important parts of maintaining your pet?s as inspirations and teachers, I bring you a story health naturally, and we talk about why exercise is about an amazing dog named Gwinnie. She taught so important and discuss different ways you can me so much about life, love, and letting go, and I am forever grateful to her. make sure your pet gets enough exercise. Now that spring is here, many of our pets are starting to experience allergy symptoms. As you may remember from the April/ May issue, it was actually my dog Barkley?s allergy symptoms that initially started me on my journey of naturopathy and feeding my animals a SARF diet. And so, I wanted to examine what causes allergy symptoms in our pets and look at ways we can address the root cause of those symptoms and help their bodies heal and maintain health naturally.
As always, I would love to hear from you! If there?s a particular topic you would like to see covered, or if you have a question about something you see, email me at kristin@rawpetdigest.com. And, if you have pictures of your cat or dog that you?d like to share, send them to me! Please include a sentence giving us permission to use the photos, your pet?s name, and your name. You may see your pet in an upcoming issue of Raw Pet Digest! Thank you for reading!
One of my dreams for the magazine is to highlight Kristin Clark various natural things you can do for your pet to help support them in regaining and maintaining Editor-in-Chief 4
APRACTICALGUIDE TOSARFFEEDING
Lycan, a Belgian Malinois. Photo credit: Bre Altherr
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If you?re anything like I was when I decided to make the switch to feeding a species-appropriate diet, you may be a bit overwhelmed by the logistics of it all. I had lots of questions, and sometimes it was hard to find answers. The previous issue of Raw Pet Digest went over lots of information about what to feed, how to introduce your dog to a species-appropriate raw food (SARF) diet, and why it?s important to feed a SARF diet. But this article goes a little further? it describes the nuts and bolts of SARF feeding. Of course, there is more than one way to do it, and what works for one person may not work for another, but hopefully this article will take some of the mystery out of the process. First, let?s take a look at some items that will make feeding your pet a SARF diet much easier. A f reezer One of the most crucial items in your SARF toolkit is a deep freezer. If you don?t already have one, you will want to get one. They come in various sizes and have various features; you can decide what is important to you. To give you a sense of size, I have four dogs (ranging from 17-50 pounds) and one cat, and my freezer is 5.1 cubic feet. About 95% of the freezer is devoted to food for our pets, and I can store plenty in there? enough so that I only have to stock up about every 3-4 weeks (on average). The freezer?s dimensions are approximately 29
inches wide by 33 inches high, and it has a depth of about 22 inches. I know someone who has a much larger freezer than me with 2 dogs, and she can stock several months?worth of food in hers. I opted for the smaller size because I needed something that fit into a small area, and this freezer worked perfectly. Find something that fits in the space you have and that fits your budget, but get a freezer? you'll find it really useful. Of course, if you don?t have room for a separate freezer, you may have to stock up more often on food for your pet or skip freezing it all together. This is less convenient, but it is an option. A kit chen scal e When you first start feeding a SARF diet, it is important to make sure that you are feeding your dog or cat the appropriate amount of meat, bones, and organs/ glands for their weight (or ideal weight). The best way to do this is by weighing the food you?re giving them using a kitchen scale. You may eventually get to the point where you can ?eyeball? the food to make sure it's the right amount; you may also get to a place where you know your pet so well that you can use their energy level, physical appearance, and stool appearance to judge the amount to give them. But, especially when you are starting out, or when you are working with a new protein source, it is important to be able to weigh it out. I also use my scale if one of my animals doesn?t finish what I?ve given them. This tells me how much they did eat, helps me determine how much to feed next time, and lets me keep an eye on their ongoing food intake. A good cl eaver and poul t ry shears
95% of the freezer is stocked with food for our animals. Photo credit: Kristin Clark
Most of the food I get for my pets needs to be cut up to whatever size and weight I want to give them that day. Generally, I need to cut through meat and bone (for example, if I am working with a whole turkey or chicken, or portioning out rabbit or parts of a cow, lamb, or goat). I invested in a high-quality meat cleaver, and it has made the job of cutting everything up much easier. I also have a pair of poultry shears that are really helpful if I?m cutting 6
up a chicken. Each of my animals eats a different amount, so it?s important to be able to quickly portion out whatever size is appropriate for each. I would highly recommend a cleaver and shears; I use mine on a daily basis. On a side note, many supermarkets will sharpen your knives for free; talk to the butcher at the market to see if this is an option. They will also be able to tell you the best way to care for your cleaver. I always hand-wash mine, and I hone the blade each time after I use it. You can also find information about how to properly care for a knife online. A raw f ood journal When I started feeding raw, someone suggested I keep a raw food journal. Over time, I have refined mine to include the information I find relevant and useful. Again, everyone does it differently, but I use Microsoft Excel and have a different tab for each animal. My journal includes the date, the amount of food (in ounces), type of food given, whether or not organs were given, and any additional notes. It also has a place to include the total amount of food given each week so I can make sure I?m within the target range for that animal. And, it also includes that pet?s weight and the target amounts of meat, bone, and organs/ glands (on a weekly basis). I have an example of my raw food journal on the next page. The process of f eeding When I first started feeding a SARF diet, I wasn't sure of the best approach to take. When I fed kibble, I just scooped it into the bowl and put the bowl down. Each animal had their special place to eat inside, and they would run to that spot and wait for me to put the bowl down. They would scarf it down, and I wouldn?t give it any more thought until the next meal. When I made the switch, I knew that I wanted to feed the dogs outside (the cat eats inside on a little mat), since I wasn?t sure if they would keep the meat and bones and organs in the bowl or drag them
around. But beyond that, I didn?t know what the best way to do it was. What I soon figured out, though, is that each dog has their own special approach to eating a SARF diet. I feed my dogs once per day in the morning, and in general the routine goes like this: I cut up and portion out the food for each dog for the day, put it in that dog?s bowl, carry it outside, and put it down on the cement. Elle, Cleo, and Motley tend to eat their food right out of the bowl, and if they do take it out they stay close to their bowl. Barkley carries his food off to a small patch of grass, lays down, and eats it there. I generally stay outside with them while they eat (which could take anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour, depending on what type of food it is and how much I?ve given them). I do this to make sure that Elle and Motley don?t steal food from anyone else, and because I enjoy watching them experience fulfillment in their food. When they are done, I gather up the bowls and bring them inside to clean them, the cutting board, the countertop, and the cleaver and/ or shears. Cleanup generally takes me about 10 minutes total (it actually takes much less time to clean up after the animals' breakfast than it does to clean up after cooking dinner for us!). The Quest ion of Bowl s I have met some people who say that you shouldn?t use bowls for SARF-fed pets. Again, it really comes down to whatever works best for you, but I find bowls are very handy for carrying the food outside without dripping anything on the floor. I also find them useful if I?m feeding a mix of things? for example, some liver along with chicken and maybe a turkey wing or two. If you do use bowls, opt for stainless steel rather than plastic. Stainless steel is relatively inexpensive, very durable, and it won?t harbor bacteria or leach anything into the food (plastic can leach and because it is porous, bacteria can linger even when you wash it). Plus, you can find bowls in all shapes and sizes.
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Example of Motley's tab in my raw food journal. This represents the beginning of his entries (we got him on 4/ 12/ 15). As you can see, I include the date, the amount (in ounces), the type of food given, any additional notes, and a "cheat sheet" of weight and targets. I have a tab set up for each animal, and I review it regularly to make sure that everyone is on track.
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Where t o f eed
Preparat ion is key
As I mentioned, I feed my cat inside on a small mat. I feed my dogs on the cement for several reasons: my backyard is predominantly composed of cement, a wooden deck, and a swimming pool (there's hardly any grass); the food doesn?t seem to stain the cement; and the place I feed them gets full sun throughout the day. Sunlight acts as a natural disinfectant, so this helps keep it clean and disinfected without having to use any chemicals. I don?t feed the dogs on the deck because they have a tendency to lick up minuscule bits of blood and meat, and I don?t want them to ingest any of the stain that?s on the deck or get splinters in their tongues. Some people feed their dogs on grass. If you want to feed your dog inside (in case of really bad weather or because you don?t have a backyard), you can feed on a mat or old blanket? this is perfectly fine, and you can lay the mat or blanket out in the sun to disinfect each day, or wash them. You may also want to feed in a crate if you live inside and your dog or cat tends to drag food around everywhere. If you feed inside and your dog or cat does drag the food onto the floor, it?s not a big deal; you will just need to clean it up after. The August/ September issue of Raw Pet Digest will have information on safe, natural cleaners which you may find useful, particularly if you feed inside.
Once you establish a routine, you will probably find that feeding a SARF diet is as convenient as feeding kibble was. One last tip I can give you is to plan ahead. I have a general idea of what I want to feed the next day when I finish feeding each day. I keep food for the next day or two in a tub in the refrigerator, and I make sure, if it?s running low, to pull out food for the next day or two from the freezer and put it in the tub so it can defrost.
Tub where I keep defrosted meat. Photo credit: Kristin Clark
I have fed all types of meats (including chicken, turkey, lamb, tripe, muskrat, goose, llama, alpaca, rabbit, quail, beef, trachea, gullets, liver, kidneys, brain, testicles, etc.), and when I keep them in that tub I never smell the meat. Food doesn't stay in it more than a day or two, and I wash the tub every week to make sure it stays fresh. With some time and practice, feeding a SARF diet can be just as convenient as feeding kibble. If you haven't already made the switch, give it a try! Your pet will thank you for it. I hope that this article answers some of your questions about the process of raw feeding. If you have any questions or suggestions to share with other readers, we'd love to hear them! Please send me an email (kristin@rawpetdigest.com). -By Kristin Clark
Motley, our newest dog, enjoying lamb. Photo credit: Kristin Clark
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FINDINGMEATSUPPLIERS Securing food sources will be one of your first steps once you have made the decision to feed your pet a species-appropriate raw food (SARF) diet. There is a bit more planning and work involved, especially when first starting out. But it could not be more worth it for the health of your animal! First things first, the amount of freezer space you have available will determine if you are able to buy in bulk or not. You can save yourself a lot of money and weekly trips to purchase food when you buy in bulk. If you have minimal freezer space consider purchasing a used freezer for the purpose of storing pet food. When looking for a source of raw food there are three main things to consider: the quality of the food, the price of the food, and the availability of the food. The quality and price will generally go hand-in-hand (the higher the quality, the more costly) but not always, so don?t assume a more costly product is better quality. Depending on the volume of food you expect to go through, there are a variety of sources to investigate. If you are feeding one or two smaller pets, then doing your shopping at the grocery store, butcher shop, or pet store may work well for you. If you have larger dogs, a number of pets or are on a tighter budget, you will need to devote some additional time to lining up some sources that match your particular needs. Where do you start looking? If you know of or can get in touch with people in your area who are already feeding a SARF diet, they should be able to give you some valuable information on where they are purchasing their food. I have used this tactic myself. It?s much more efficient to glean
Raw meaty bones. Š Cybertrone | Dreamstime.com
information from other raw feeders than to try and do all the research from the beginning on your own. Generally, they are happy to share the suppliers they like and those they don?t. If you don?t happen to know anyone who is feeding raw in your area, don?t worry, you can find them! Google and Facebook are invaluable tools in your search for raw food; I will talk about them a little later in the article. When you are trying to nail down some good sources, you might first start close to home with your friends and family. I think everyone has that one person in their family that buys more meat than they could ever possibly eat. Tell them about your pet?s new diet and ask them to get in touch when/ if they are cleaning out their freezer. Let your friends and family know you will take unadulterated raw meat for your pet. Just stay away from meat that has anything added to it, such 10
as hamburger patties, sausage, marinated or spiced meats, etc. If you have a friend or family member that hunts, it is quite likely they will still have meat left at the beginning of the next hunting season. Let them know that you will put any meat to good use if they are discarding it. Also, during hunting season ask them to save you the parts of animals they are not using, including the internal organs. Wild game meat is an ideal source of food as the animals are eating a natural diet and living a natural existence! You can try posting in online classifieds for freezer-burnt meat. Please use good judgment and be cautious when getting food from people you do not know. If anything seems off about the meat, do not feed it to your pet. You can also search the online classifieds for meat that is listed for sale. Sometimes using the word meat will bring up results, but other times you must search for a specific type of meat (beef, chicken, rabbit, etc). I
have been successful both posting for meat and searching for items. You can use the Internet to network with other raw feeders in your area. Breeders are often a great place to start. Do a Google search for ?raw feeding dog breeders your city? or visit the Naturally Rearing Breeder?s Association or The Natural Reared Support Supplier & Practitioner Directory. If you are on Facebook, there are a multitude of groups from all over the world that share raw food supplier information. Carnivore Feed Supplier (CFS), for instance, is a general group on Facebook for finding raw food suppliers. Search for terms such as ?raw pet food your city?. Reach out to people in these groups and ask for recommendations around your location. Google the term ?raw food co-op your city?. Co-ops are where a bunch of people get together to place a large order from a supplier in order to receive bulk discounts.
King, an American Bully, enjoying a raw meaty bone. Photo credit: Kim Bloomer
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